Bay Walkers
Citizens of the remains of the shore, Bay Walkers are smart and serious, highly specialized to the area where they were raised. Bay Walkers are folk raised and grown in coastal regions, along major lakes, and in territories where their cities were spared the brunt of radioactive destruction but were not spared the drowning of the rising tide waters. To Bay Walkers, the tradition of scavenging in the drowned ruins continues to this day, as old supplies are pulled up and a decent – if cloistered– existence is maintained in the wasteland. In areas of the Bay, the legions of shamblers that threaten most areas are significantly lessened for them– slowed by the risen waters. Instead, the Bay Walkers are constantly tested by the more specialized forms of the undead, far more prevalent here than anywhere else for unknown reasons. From packs of Hunters lurking in the shadows to the numberless Sleepers waiting just inches beneath the marshy streets, most adult Bay Walkers have survived by scavenging and building lives while being hunted, stalked, and harried by the worst of the worst- and learning to do the same without hesitation. Bay Walkers are very organized and often educated people. Calm and serious, they have a strong trust in rules and government, needing such discipline to survive the terrors of the dead coast. Bay Walkers, commonly found in coastal and maritime regions, pursue a pragmatic lifestyle that rubs most city-dwelling Yorkers wrong. The rivalries between the Bay Walkers and the Yorkers are legendary, and in some places are stated to exist even before the fall of man. Bay Walkers are not restricted to having been born in The Mass, an area thick with Bay Walker culture. In the years and generations after the fall a number of Bay Walker families found their way to coastal settlements via ship. In addition to the expansion of the culture of The Mass, small cloisters of maritime-focused settlements across the globe have had near parallel evolutions to create Bay Walkers. Starting Statistics * Health 8 * Mind 10 * Infection 4 Strain Requirements Bay Walkers are typically calm and composed people, a byproduct of being terrified for most of their early lives. Most prefer getting involved with stable groups and clear organizations, and have little patience for loners or other antisocial types. Their clothing is typically practical and sturdy, favoring subdued shades like browns and blacks, along with many, many pockets and pouches to contain whatever Scrap and scavenge comes along. After all, it’s better to grab it now rather then risk death coming back for it later. All Bay Walkers have small but noticeable tattoos related to their home on visible or easily revealed portions of their bodies, both to identify themselves to other natives of the Mass and occasionally as a warning for would-be highwaymen: “This is probably not one of your better ideas.” Advantages Available Skills at 3 points each: * Analyze Creature * Double Tap * First Aide * Instruct * Literacy * Parry Fast Learner: Bay Walkers learn from their mistakes quickly, and are quick to wrap their minds around foreign concepts and new ideas. Learning a new Skill or Profession takes only half the time for a Bay Walker. Moreover, they understand how to impart their knowledge most efficiently, a serious advantage when both time and lives are on the line. A Bay Walker may expend 1 Mind Point when Teaching (or per student when using Instruct) to teach a skill that becomes immediately available instead of at the next Twelves. Players need to be sure to only purchase or teach skills that a character can learn before using this Skill (if uncertain, the Skill fails). Old Wounds: Bay Walkers know exactly what buttons to push on Yorkers, and with that, a Bay Walker may call “Old Wounds, Triple Refuse Required” to force a Yorker to use the Refuse Skill three times in order to negate a Bay Walker’s use of the Challenge Skill. Disadvantages Toxic Shock: With past generations having avoided the brunt of the radiation and surging waste common to many other locations, Bay Walkers just don’t have the resistance of other survivors when it comes to nasty toxins and crippling poisons. Bay Walkers suffer double damage from all sources of Toxic/Poison damage. A Tale of Two Cities: Bay Walkers often don’t get along with Yorkers (“Disorganized beat-sticks”), and Yorkers don’t get along with Bay Walkers (“Arrogant know-it-all pricks"). Too Clever: Bay Walkers may never possess the following Professions: Sawbones, Primitive, or Thug.Category:Strains